


Lightyin

by Creativeguy39



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Gen, Philosophy, Sarcasm Galore, dysfunctional-on-the-outside-trusting-and-healthy-on-the-inside relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-23
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-07-01 08:44:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15770616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Creativeguy39/pseuds/Creativeguy39
Summary: Arceus sensed a coming change in the universe, and sent his two best field agents to investigate it. Little did any of them know just how unexpected and catastrophic the outcome would be.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah. This is a somewhat different fic, I hope y'all will like it. As I type this, I'm still coming up with another one that'll be even better. I don't know when I'll be posting it, though.
> 
> Also, FYI, since there are a lot of Legendary Pokemon in this, allow me to get one thing straight. All legendaries know their ENTIRE movepool, as well as a couple moves that they can't learn within the actual games. Seeing as they are divine beings and all, I thought it only made sense.
> 
> Like most of my works, I have NO idea how long this will be.

He felt his black wings against his shoulders as he observed the fortress below silently. Next to him, the slightly taller feathered dragon known as Reshiram had adopted a similar posture, laying low near the edge of the cliff and keeping her head down, so as to not be seen.

“So. What’s the plan?”

She turned her head to face him, obviously annoyed. “That would be the precise reason why we are laying low, rather than already advancing. In simpler words, I have yet to come up with one.”

He laughed softly to himself at his counterpart’s adamant refusal to use contractions. Just one of the vast white dragon’s many quirks that you learned to appreciate after being around her for a few thousand years. Not unlike the intense look in her sky-blue eyes that only took residence there when she was putting that brain of hers to work.

Once again, she turned to him. “It would appear there is nothing noteworthy about the fort’s defenses. Our usual strategy shall suffice, given they lack any tricks I have yet to learn of.”

“By our ‘usual strategy’, I can only guess that you mean I advance and do most of the work, and you provide… oh, what is it that you call it again?”

She showed vexation. “Long-range support?” she offered.

He snapped his claws. “Yeah! That! The stuff that barely helps!”

She crossed her arms, which was difficult given that they were still laying down and her arms were connected to beautiful, feathered wings, which were perfect for flight, but tended to be a bit awkwardly shaped for things such as the matter at hand. “For your information, I keep track of our performances, and I do just as much as you do, with a much lower injury rate.”

He waved her off as he stood up. “Yeah, yeah, you keep telling yourself that. Anyways, enough bickering. This is one of the few parts of our job that I actually enjoy.”

He took flight and began soaring down to the grey fortress below them. Normally, his small, shoulder-based wings wouldn’t be enough to get him travelling at very much of a speed, but that was where his tail came in. With those two parts of his body, he accelerated down to the fort, shrouding himself in electricity. The unsuspecting Drapion guard got the Bolt Strike directly to the chest, knocking it out cold immediately. Recollecting quickly from the impact, he made himself airborne once again with electromagnetic waves produced by his tail, ready to meet the rest of the fort’s arsenal of soldiers.

A long-range Fire Blast from Reshiram eliminated a Whimsicott that had been only a few metres away from him, saving him the trouble of dealing with a Fairy-Type that could also resist his Electric moves. How she connected moves from that far, only she knew. He summoned an Earth Power to deal with an Eelektross guarding the gate down below him, and a Draco Meteor to dispose of an Avalugg on the other side of the battlements. He then readied a Wild Charge and flew at a Walrein who had just come up to the battlements, taking care of it. He turned around just in time to witness a Fusion Flare hit a Bisharp that had been about to use Iron Head on him. Not that it would have hurt much. He felt an Earthquake going off, and lifted up once again just in time to avoid the brunt of it. The first bit had still hurt, though, given his typing. He looked all around, before locking eyes with a Mudsdale, who by the look on his face, had been the perpetrator. He charged a Payback and hit the horse with it, rendering it unconscious as well. Behind it was two Smeargle, paralyzed by fear. He hit the first with a Stone Edge, then defeated the other with Fusion Bolt. With them finished, he looked around. The fort was silent. “C’mon! Only seven guards? I was just getting warmed up!”

He heard a noise above him, and looked up to see Reshiram fly down and land next to him. “Judging by my estimations, this castle belongs to raiders. The others are no doubt out foraging for supplies, be they unowned or under the ownership of an innocent Pokémon whom they must kill to obtain it.” She allowed her head to swivel around as she remembered their objective. “The most logical form of accomplishing this task would be to enter through the main gate. It consists mostly of steel, meaning I have the ability to mel-“

“Nah, that’ll take too long. I’ll just guess.” With that, he jumped up to become airborne once again and flew down from the battlements so that he was facing the front wall, with the gate. Without hesitation, he delivered an incredible Giga Impact straight to the wall, right above the gate, creating a hole in the stone that led straight to the second floor. As he burst through, next to the new hole he caught a glimpse of the reason they were here: Uxie.

_Zekrom! You’re here! Quick! Release me!”_

He was still standing, though he was wobbling a great amount more than usual. “Hold up, give me a sec. That hurt a _lot_ more than I thought it would. Ow.”

As he collected himself from the extremely reckless move, Reshiram flew in calmly. “I’m pleased to see these bandits didn’t hurt you, Uxie. On the other hand, I am slightly less pleased to learn that I supposedly care for Zekrom’s well-being more than he does.” The last bit was stated in a rather angry tone, with a vexed look shot at the dazed, black dragon.

Ignoring the last ticked comment, Uxie nodded. _They intended to ransom me. In return for my release, they wanted Palkia to transport their castle closer to the nearest city, to increase pillaging opportunities._ She then pointed to a Wobbufett that lay unconscious near her cell, with a nasty, brick-sized bump growing on its forehead. _And now that that Wobbuffet has been eliminated, I may teleport away._

Zekrom had finally recollected himself. “Alrighty, then, so we’re good! Mission accomplished.”

Uxie gave him an unreadable look. All of her looks were unreadable, she kept her eyes shut all the time. _Not quite, Zekrom. I have a favour to ask of you._ She pointed with one of her tails to another corner of the room, where a Gible slept on the floor. _They took that Pok_ _émon during a raid. It would anger my conscience for us to simply leave him here. Might we do something about it?_

The Electric-Type in the room approached the small shark Pokémon, his tail lighting up to a brilliant blue, which it only did when he was discharging electricity or feeling a very strong emotion. He crouched down next to it. “It’s got a chip in its fin. The heck where these guys doing to it?”

Reshiram came up behind him, looking at it, herself. “All male Gibles have a chip identical to that one on their dorsal fin. They maintain it through both the evolutions that take place within their lifespan.”

Oh. Well, Zekrom felt dumb for not knowing that. “Don’t worry, Uxie. We’ll take good care of him.”

Reshiram began a protest to his decision, hesitated, then nodded. “Indeed. He shall become one of us, to the point that we will often forget he is mortal.” She turned, only to find Uxie had already teleported away.

Zekrom looked up at her. “I think I like the name Harold.”

She looked down at him, as he was still crouching. “Might I suggest Pistrix?”

There was a sparkle in Zekrom’s red eyes that she couldn’t quite identify. “I like it. I like it.”

 

 

_~20 years later~_

 

 

She couldn’t believe her eyes when her rescuers swooped down.

One second, it had seemed as though she would have to fight her aggressors. The next, they had both been knocked off their feet. The third, she recognized the Pokémon who had done the deed: The Tao counterparts, Reshiram and Zekrom, only spoken of in legends.

She stood frozen, completely speechless, as the legendaries landed, the darker of the two with a third distinctly draconic, yet also much smaller Pokémon on his back. After he let it off, he turned to the white dragoness.

“Well, there you go again with making me do all the work.”

She gave him a calm look. “I aimed as best as my ability permitted. I did not fail to connect that Dragon Pulse simply because I ‘let it’ miss.”

The towering Black Yin placed his claws on his hips. “I used Bolt Strike, which is less accurate than Dragon Pulse, and I hit that Milotic spot-on. Afterwards, I had to fly over to the Turtonator you ‘missed’ and give it a Dragon Claw.”

Reshiram tilted her head. “I find it quite odd that you seemingly ignore the event three months ago which involved you missing three Fusion Bolts in a row, making me eliminate the Pelipper with Dragon Pulse.” She turned to the quivering stranger. “Now, might we ease the nerves of this mortal?”

He turned to face her as well. “Ah, yes, she’ll probably want the knowledge that we come with amicable intentions.” He craned his neck forward in confusion, finally getting a good look at her. “You’re an evolution of Eevee, aren’t you? Which one?”

Her state hadn’t changed. “Y-you’re…!”

“Yeah, yeah, we’re the legendary counterpart dragons, Reshiram and Zekrom. Whoopee. Now tell me something I don’t know.” Zekrom found his sarcastic attitude tended to speed up the ‘legendary shock’ that came when a mortal who had never met a legendary Pokémon before found themselves standing before one, like the still-unidentified Eeveelution he was facing. As he had predicted, the shock began draining from her at a much faster pace than it would have otherwise.

“O-oh my goodness. I never thought I would actually meet one of you, I don’t even _know_ anyone who’s met either of you! Oh my goodness, oh my-“

“Couldja answer my question, please?” Zekrom was growing impatient.

She jumped slightly at the Electric-Type’s sudden snap. “O-oh! Sorry! I’m a Sylveon.”

Zekrom winced slightly at her answer. “Ew. Fairy-Types. Not someone I would want to face in battle. No offense to you, or anything.”

Before she could tell him that she _was_ slightly offended by that remark, Reshiram interjected. “May we know your name? We really must hurry.”

“My name is Nymph.”

“That is a lovely sounding name.”

Okay, she had heard that compliment from countless Pokémon before, but if _you_ had heard it from Reshiram herself, you would have blushed, too.

“Now, it is time we departed. He will be expecting us, soon. Zekrom, if you would call him, please?”

“Alright. C’mon, Pistrix! We’re peacing this joint!”

Pistrix, who Nymph now recognized as a Garchomp, had fallen asleep on a nearby stump. Now shaken awake, he stood back up and ran over, returning onto Zekrom’s back. Nymph noticed that Reshiram had lowered her wing, and was gazing at her. “Wh-what? Am I coming with you?”

The White Yang nodded. “Affirmative.”

“But… why?”

Reshiram smiled warmly. “I do not know, myself. Nor does Zekrom. But as Arceus says: all in good time.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Where are we going?”

“We currently make haste for the Moongarden.”

“Never heard of that place.”

“It is the dwelling of Lunala.”

The conversation was taking place between the White Yang dragoness, Reshiram, and the mortal Sylveon known as Nymph, who was a passenger on Reshiram’s back on a high-speed trek through the skies. Their journey was being made shorter by Reshiram’s tail, which could be used as a jet during flight to propel her even faster than her wings were capable of on their own.

Nymph attempted to look up, promptly getting a faceful of wind strong enough to dry out her eyes immediately, forcing her to look back down at Reshiram’s feathers. She tried her left, and was happy to learn that in this position the wind did not assault her eyes, and thus she could gaze as she pleased. In this direction she could make out the dark figure of Zekrom, Reshiram’s counterpart, about twelve metres away and matching her speed. On his back was Pistrix the Garchomp. Seeing them brought another question to mind.

“Is there any particular reason why we’re headed there?”

Silence, minus the rushing wind. Reshiram hadn’t heard her, supposedly. “Why exactly are you taking me there?”

“We are under orders to have Lunala study you. She excels at reading the energy of mortals. Arceus stated that he would perform the task himself, but he is far too busy at the moment.”

Her answer far from satisfied Nymph’s curiosity. On the contrary, it made it more hungry. “And why would you need me studied?”

Reshiram once again was silent for a few seconds before responding. “Arceus has thus far denied us that knowledge. He has informed us that Lunala will have been contacted and filled in by the time we have reached her, and that she shall explain.”

During their conversation, Zekrom had slowly flown up closer to them so that he was within speaking range, which was less than a metre away, given how good the wind was at snuffing out sound. “Oy!” he started. “We’re just under an hour away from the Moongarden. That’s the good news. The bad news is that there’s a gargantuan storm in our way. It would take, like, a week to skirt around this one. It’s  _ huge _ .”

This ‘bad news’ didn’t seem to faze Reshiram. “We shall execute the normal storm-flight procedure, I assume?”

Pistrix was the one who answered. “Yeah! Can’t wait!” With that, Zekrom veered back to the left, away from the female duo.

It seemed to Nymph that she was the only one who was actually uneasy about the prospect of flying straight into a storm. “Uh, I take it that this ‘storm-flight procedure’ is safe?”

Reshiram laughed heartily, which was uncharacteristic of her. “Their duo consists of a Ground-Type and an Electric-Type, the former of which possesses an immunity to electricity, the latter a resistance. Zekrom is also Dragon-Type, which is cause for further increased resistance. Should they fly at a higher altitude than we, they will act as living lightning rods, nullifying most if not all risk of us being hit, as well as most if not all damage they will receive.”

“Oh.” There was a pause before the Sylveon uttered the word of understanding, as she still wasn’t used to Reshiram’s way of speaking.

“To answer your question, yes, it is safe.”

The quartet flew onwards, and eventually the drizzly, fog-like sensation of light rain met their scales, feathers, or fur, depending. Zekrom didn’t mind rain, since he was resistant to the Water-Type. Pistrix was indifferent, Nymph actually quite enjoyed it, and Reshiram strongly disliked it. She refused to say she hated it, as such a claim would be, ‘inaccurate in a similar manner to extremist ideologies.’ It even took Arceus a while to decode that statement.

After a good while of flying, wondering when the rain was going to stop, and being hit by lightning multiple times without really feeling anything, Zekrom took notice of a landmark beneath them. “Huh! We’re ahead of schedule!”

“Wha-?” Pistrix had fallen asleep on him. Whenever he did, Zekrom just used magnetism to hold him on. Pistrix looked down to the ground far beneath them groggily. “Oh, here. This is the Moongarden? Gee, it’s only been five minutes.”

“Actually, it’s been half an hour.”

“Really!? Did I conk out or something?”

“Uh, yeah. How did you not notice?”

Pistrix was shocked. Quite literally. He had been hit by lightning multiple times in his sleep. “We had just entered the storm, I blink, and then you say we’re ahead of schedule!”

As they talked, Zekrom had signalled to his counterpart and pointed down, to let her know where they were. He was now descending. “Well, maybe this will wash off the grogginess.”

Reshiram landed on the flower-ridden grass lightly and gently, keeping her passenger in mind. Zekrom landed in such a manner that you would be surprised he didn’t make a crater.

“I would like to petition for you to not execute such stunts when your turn with our guest comes, both for her well-being and for your own.”

Gosh, did Reshiram always have to worry about him like that? Yes. Yes, she did. “Don’t worry, Reshi, I only did it to make sure Pistrix here was awake and alert for our endeavors here. I’ll be tons more cautious.”

Nymph, not having heard the conversation, was climbing off of Reshiram with shaky legs. Yikes, that had been intense. And something was telling her she would be doing this more often from here on out, whether she liked it or not.

“Is this the Moongarden, then?” They were in what appeared to be a mini-valley in the midst of several large rock formations. The dirt was covered by brilliantly green grass, sprinkled with differently coloured flowers. Certain sections were densely treed. Coming from the tallest rock formation was a sparkling waterfall, which tumbled into a small body of water that connected to a stream that led out of the area.

“Affirmative.” Reshiram responded. “Though, it would appear it is currently in its inactive state.”

“Exactly,” came from Zekrom. “It’s only active at night.”

“False. The Moongarden becomes active exactly halfway through nautical twilight, which is before even dusk, let alone night.”

Zekrom often forgot how snappy Reshiram could be. “Same difference. Either way, we’ve got some time to kill, as it’s only the start of the evening.”

Nymph half expected Reshiram to tell him that time could not, in fact, be killed, though she oddly didn’t. She might be factual, but she understood idioms.

Pistrix had already fallen asleep on a nearby rock, and Reshiram had walked away a bit of a ways to study the waterfall. This left Nymph chatting with Zekrom. Despite the rather uncaring attitude he had initially portrayed, he was proving to be quite relaxed, easy-going and genial, especially for a Legendary Pokémon, whom would be expected to have a rather serious disposition. Nymph learned from him that the Hall of Origin was, in fact, real, and was the base of operations for the Legendary Council, which is to say the assembled Legendaries. Reshiram and Zekrom were actually quite young for Legendaries, she also learned from him, as most of them had been created at or near the beginning of time by Arceus, while they had been created by Kyurem about twenty millenia beforehand. So, there was more of an age gap between them and the others than there was between a child and their great-great-great grandparents, even if you used rates rather than the difference in years. That last part had been told to Zekrom by Reshiram, but he still didn’t understand it.

“Say, that reminds me, why do you mock Reshiram so much?” She asked him at one point.

“Oh, you can’t even really call that mocking. It’s more… teasing. See, I only do it to people who I know would get a kick out of it. For me to know that, of course, I have to be darn awful familiar with them. Pay attention tonight, I do the same thing to Lunala, but not as much. It started when I fake-flirted with her in front of Necrozma, because he used to have the hots for her and he and I are on good terms, and I knew he would take it well and there wouldn’t be any long-term repercussions. After that, I just kinda never stopped, and it’s a regular thing now.”

Most of their conversation went this way, with Nymph asking the questions and Zekrom answering. Much as Zekrom would love to turn the tables on her, Arceus had specifically told them not to inquire as to her personal life; he would handle that himself.

As they talked, they felt the sky darkening, with everything else following suit. By now the massive cloud had passed over, leaving the sky clear. It was at this point that the three started to see movement around them. There was very little of it, at first, the kind of thing you noticed from your peripherals and gave no second thought. But it became more frequent, more noticeable, more worth the attention of our group. Minus Pistrix, of course, whose attention was fully diverted towards sleeping. Finally, Zekrom snapped away from the conversation to scan the area for the source of this movement, only to notice in less than a second that there were other Pokémon present. Lunatone, Absol, Gligar, even a Noivern resting casually underneath one of the trees. They all seemed to be going about their own business, paying the newcomers little attention or care.

“It would appear you two have finally come to notice the presence our new company. Should I remember correctly, the residents of the Moongarden become active shortly before it does so itself. To further strengthen my point, it is currently twilight.” Ah, Reshiram. Ever factual.

Indeed, the sky was the dark blue of the nickname twilight had earned itself:  _ l’heure bleue _ , or the blue hour. Along with the slowly increasing darkness came stars, as white dots against the ocean-like abyss. Suffice to say, it made for some lovely scenery. Then they noticed a noise. You know that noise that  _ sounds _ like shimmering? The noise that comes shortly after a Dazzling Gleam has been executed? It was coming from the small lake-pond with the waterfall, Then, it started glowing, in every colour of the rainbow, though primarily a bright, bright blue. The waterfall followed suit. It was becoming brighter, and the noise louder. Nymph was amazed, and slightly scared, while the other two knew what to expect, having been here and witnessed this ritual before. It reached fever pitch, there was a bright flash…

And floating above the water was the Legendary Moone Pokémon, Lunala!

“Heh. I still don’t get you, Lunala. You claim you don’t care for flashy entrances, and yet here you are.”

“Zekrom, my friend, it is merely for my subjects in this Moongarden. It thoroughly amuses them, and I am not one to leave those I am in charge of unhappy.”

Lunala then turned to the Sylveon in the vicinity. “And you must be the mortal Arceus had these two retrieve! He said nowhere within the description that you were Shiny.”

Everyone except Lunala was now confused. “Shiny?” Zekrom inquired, his voice half disbelief and half amazement. “She’s Shiny?”

“Why yes, Zekrom. Have you ever seen a Sylveon before?”

“Negative. You must recall, Lunala, Zekrom and myself are far younger than yourself. And Eevee, along with its evolutionary forms, are sufficiently rare for us to not have encountered them all, and thus have no method of coming to the conclusion of whether she is Shiny or not. Odds dictate, of course, that we will assume the latter. For the same reasons, the probability of her having never encountered another Sylveon like herself is quite high, thus she would have no method of comparison to conclude that she is, in fact, Shiny.”

Everyone else became slightly less proficient with ranged attacks upon Reshiram finishing her rant. Though, if she heard me say that, she would correct me, saying it’s an ‘examination of the facts at hand coupled with a logical conclusion’. And like hell I’m using that in a sentence.

“Entirely valid points, Reshiram.” It was coming from Lunala. “Forgive me for my failure to take those facts into consideration. I spend so much time in the Moongarden I forget the state of the world.” Her tone seemed to be permanently light, airy and aloof. “Now, shall we move on to business? I am to read this Sylveon. What is your name?”

“What. Is. A Shiny?”

“Oh, my most awful mistake, child! You have not heard what a Shiny Pokémon is, nor about its attributes?”

Nymph shrugged. “I may have heard the term once or twice, but I don’t know what it means. Other than, of course, the actual word shiny.”

“I see, child.” Lunala had flown away from the water and was now floating in front of Nymph. “Shininess is a very rare phenomenon in mortals, which causes them to be coloured differently. A Pokémon cannot become Shiny; either it starts and end its life as one, or it does not. Judging by your blue and white fur, rather than pink and white, and the pink tips on your feelers and your pink eyes, rather than both being blue, you are, in fact, a Shiny.”

Nymph’s eyes were as wide as saucers. So, she was one in… a lot, at least. “That explains why my fur was white when I was an Eevee!”

“Exactly!” Lunala was grinning. Mortals were so amusing to her. “All Shiny Eevee have pale white fur from birth until evolution! That piece of data further confirms it. While we are on the subject of data, might I inquire once again as to your name?”

“Nymph.”

“Nymph! Terrific! Now, for the part you came here for.”

The colossal moon-bat closed her eyes and appeared to be focusing. On her forehead, her third, open eye appeared, which showed she was using her energy.

This lasted for several minutes. Nymph didn’t move for the entirety of it, fearing doing so might break Lunala’s focus somehow. Partway through, Zekrom saw something out of the corner of his eye, and left to investigate. Finally, Lunala’s third eye faded away, and her other two opened back up.

“Curious…” her look was very thoughtful. “Most curious…”

“Well…?”

“Ah. You no doubt will want the results.”

“Uh, yes please? Of course I want to know why Arceus himself has taken such an interest in me.”

“Yes, well, he was right about one thing. There is a mysterious energy about you.”

This was new. First she learns she’s Shiny, now she learns there’s some sort of ‘mysterious energy about her’? Before she could say what she was going to say next, Reshiram said it for her.

“Might you elaborate please, Lunala?”

“With pleasure. Now, allow me to make one fact clear. I know you are aware of this, Reshiram, but I doubt Nymph here is. Arceus, the creator of this world, is not omniscient.”

Nymph knew what that word meant, surprisingly. Look it up yourself if you don’t. “Really?”

“No. Rather, he has the power to ask the Universe for any information it possesses. It always listens to him, so therefore he might as well be omniscient. Except, that is, for circumstances such as right now.

“You see, when a big change is happening in the Universe, it will often deny him information. This phenomenon happened during and after the creation of Reshiram and Zekrom, for example. Two new Legendary Pokémon is a  _ huge _ change. And every time, Arceus could tell what the change was, and simply waited it out before requesting information again.”

Reshiram then spoke up. “And I take it the Universe is denying Arceus information again, and this time he hasn’t a clue why?”

Lunala pointed at Reshiram with the fingers on one of her wings triumphantly. “Correct! It has been denying him simple information such as the weather at the Suncastle for weeks, now. And as you have said, he hasn’t a clue why. Finally, he resolved to find what the issue was, or better put, what this massive change that he wasn’t aware of was. And then he noticed an odd energy resonating. When he inquired further, the Universe denied him all information except for the exact location it was coming from: a mortal. You, to be exact.”

Oh. Well, damn.

“Might I inquire as to what the nature of this energy is?”

“Certainly, Reshiram. It is similar in nature to the energy our dear friends Groudon and Kyogre use to undergo Primal Reversion, except far more potent. It also doesn’t seem capable of physically altering they who harness it, but rather-”

While they were talking, Zekrom was investigating what he had seen. It wasn’t like the other Pokémon here, who just went around carelessly and fearlessly. This movement had been skulking. Sneaky. Trying to avoid being seen. He was in a pseudo-battle stance, not trusting it one bit.

Finally, he saw it again, a mere couple of metres away, hiding in the darkness. Cowardly bastard. He jumped at the foe and-

“Necrozma!?”

Zekrom now found himself beholding the black, prismatic Legendary that everyone who frequented the Hall of Origin felt terribly sorry for.

“Zekrom. For what reason are you at the Moongarden? I had not expected to find you here.” His voice was immeasurably deep, like the kind of sound you can only make at the back of your throat.

“Orders from Arceus.” Zekrom explained. “Why are  _ you _ here? It’s dark out! You should be in your chamber! You’ll only hurt more unless you stay near light!”

“The moon grants me sufficient light.” He pointed with one of his oversized, black hands to the pleasantly glowing crescent moon as he said so. “And you being here does not change a thing. Step aside, please.”

“No, Necrozma. I’ve told you once, I’ll tell you again. You need to be back at the Hall of Origin, in your chamber. Arceus made the light in there bright enough to keep most of the hurting at bay.” He gestured to the waterfall, which, if you looked closely, had a cave behind it. “The orb in that cave can warp us there, right now. I’ll take you. C’mon.”

“No.” With surprising speed, Necrozma zipped past Zekrom and toward…

Lunala.

“Lunala.” Necrozma’s voice rendered him incapable of raising it, tasking him with getting Lunala’s attention by calling her name in the kind of voice you use in the library. Amazingly, she heard him the first time.

“And I believe it to be much like the ‘auras’ that Totem Pokémon posse- oh, hello, Necrozma. I hadn’t expected to find you here. Should you not be back at the Hall of Origin?”

He shook his head defiantly. Zekrom would have stopped him by now, but he was curious about what Necrozma had to say.

“No, Lunala. I-I need to tell you something.”

“Go on.” All eyes were on Necrozma, now, including those of the residents of the Moongarden.

“Lunala, I know how to end it. End the pain.”

Lunala turned her head to her left slightly while keeping her eyes on him, a gesture to show doubt. “And how, might I ask, does this involve me?”

“Lunala, I- I need you.”

That took Necrozma’s little audience by surprise, especially Lunala. Her eyes showed confusion, then embarrassment. She laughed awkwardly.

“Um, Necrozma, I seem to recall us discussing this. We had agreed that love just isn’t for us, if my memory is not failing me.”

He shook his head rapidly. “No, I do not refer to that. I need you. Your light. If you-” his hand motioned to touch Lunala, and she flinched away. When she did, he looked back up at her. “Lunala… please…”

Her eyes had a mix of fear and sternness within them. “Necrozma, go back to the Hall of Origin.  _ Now _ .”

He jumped up with that sudden speed again and hit Lunala square in the chest with a Night Slash. Despite the super-effective blow, Lunala’s Shadow Shield absorbed most of the damage, protecting Lunala for the most part. She immediately sprung backwards and launched a Shadow Ball back. He attempted to jump out of the way, but failed, getting the attack in the arm. Recoiling slightly, he attempted another Night Slash, but received a Fire Blast from the right. After recovering from the blow, he looked in the direction of the attack to find Reshiram, charging a Dragon Pulse. He quickly fired one of his own at her, dealing super-effective damage yet again.

Zekrom then pounced on Necrozma from behind, attacking with Crunch. Necrozma was able to throw him off, then came at him with a Psycho Cut. Zekrom barely avoided the move, then readied a Fusion Bolt, coating himself in an orb of blue electricity before throwing it at his foe. Despite being stunned by the powerful attack, Necrozma was still able to dodge an incoming Shadow Ball from Lunala before getting hit by a second Shadow Ball from Nymph. Zekrom hit him with a Dragon Claw, then used Flash Cannon. It connected, but Necrozma was still standing. How?

Reshiram, who was a ways away, and using Roost to recover from the Dragon Pulse, put the pieces together. Moonlight. He was using the recovery move Moonlight. The moon was said to shine slightly brighter upon the Moongarden, which powered Moonlight up, meaning as long as the damage they were dealing to him wasn’t outspeeding his healing, they were never going to defeat him.

“Lunala!” she exclaimed. Lunala, who had backed off from the battle as well, turned at the sound of her name. “He is using Moonlight to render our attacks useless! Utilize your more powerful moves, and victory shall be within our grasp!”

Lunala nodded, then turned back to the battle, her third eye appearing. She jumped up, becoming suspended several metres up, her body changing from its faintly glowing violet to a brilliant, shining whitish-blue as she moved her wings so that her body formed a perfect circle. Once this had been achieved, a beam of similarly coloured energy, known as Moongeist Beam, came from Lunala with a deadly firing sound, straight at Necrozma.

Even if he had seen the attack coming, Necrozma couldn’t have moved out of the way to dodge it. Zekrom watched him get blasted backwards by the super-effective blow, clearly hurt. The rest would be easy. But, it was then that Necrozma lifted up a hand as a glowing white orb materialized in it. He threw it at Zekrom’s feet, where it launched a pillar of light upwards at Zekrom, knocking him to the ground from the impact. Zekrom didn’t recognize the attack, but Reshiram, who had seen it get executed rather than being on the receiving end of it, did. It was Photon Geyser, Necrozma’s signature move, which he could only use when he had absorbed enough light.

Lunala, who had now exited her Full Moon Phase, which was the name of the position she took when using Moongeist Beam, attempted to enter it again to fire the attack a second time, before getting hit by a second Photon Geyser from Necrozma, knocking her closer to ground level. Being a Psychic-Type move, which Lunala was resistant to, it shouldn’t have hurt that much, leading Reshiram to believe that it might have been a critical hit.

Quicker than Reshiram or Zekrom, the latter of whom had just gotten back on his feet, could react, Necrozma was upon Lunala once again. When he got close to her, there was a bright blue flash of light, temporarily blinding Nymph, Zekrom and Reshiram.

When they regained their vision, a new Pokémon stood before them. It had the body of Lunala, but her entirety was a bright blue, like a daytime sky. Covering certain parts of her like armour were Necrozma’s prisms. In particular, the back of Necrozma’s head jutted out from Lunala’s back, and a black, triangular prism covered her face and forehead, with her glowing eyes barely visible underneath it and Necrozma’s rainbow brain prism visible where Lunala’s third eye was known to appear. There was also a piece of Necrozma on her front, with red coming from underneath it where her chest was, and Necrozma’s arms coming out from the bottom part.

“L-Lunala?” Nymph asked.

“She cannot hear you.” the entity replied in Necrozma’s voice. Lunala’s mouth did not move when it spoke. “She is being put to better use.”

“Necrozma! What in the world is wrong with you!?” Zekrom was almost as outraged as the attack itself.

The entity that had been identified as Necrozma turned to face him. “Know that I do not do this out of spite or hatred. I do not harbor such feelings against you or Lunala. It simply… needed to be done.”

“I suggest you release Lunala at once, assuming you do not wish for this battle to continue.” It was now Reshiram speaking.

“Oh, goodness no, I cannot simply permit the hurting to return. However, I also have no intention of hurting any of you, and thus I shall resort to my only alternative.” With that, he flew above and away from them and the Moongarden on Lunala’s wings, into the night sky.

“Hey! Come back here, you cowardly rectangle!” Zekrom attempted to take to the sky to pursue him, but Reshiram used a Hyper Voice on him to prevent him.

“Ow! What was that for!? I’m losing him!”

“Precisely, Zekrom. Lunala is a faster flyer than we, we have no means of gaining on him. Even our tails cannot propel us through the sky faster than her.”

“But, Necrozma’s prisms are probably weighing Lunala down! I can catch up to him! Just-”

“ _ No _ , Zekrom. While that is a valid point, and I am slightly impressed, the moon is out, granting Lunala more speed. Weighed down or not, we cannot gain on Necrozma, much less follow him.” She sighed. “Even so, I have done the calculations, and while fused with Lunala, Necrozma is more proficient with ranged attacks than even myself, not even to mention you. It would be wiser to report this incident.”

Zekrom’s eyes were still full of rage. There was a few seconds before the rage faded and was replaced with reluctant defeat as he saw the reason in his counterpart’s words. “Oh, alright. Fine. There’s a portal to the Hall of Origin behind the waterfall.”

“Which is currently inoperable. It is powered by Lunala’s light, and deactivates in her absence.”

Now it was Zekrom’s turn to sigh. “Fine. So we’re flying to the nearest portal, then. Over west, by the beach, right?”

“Affirmative. A few hours’ flight, at the most.”

Nymph, though shaken by the events that had just taken place, was excited by this prospect. “You’re going to the Hall of Origin? Am I coming?”

Reshiram smiled a bit, for the first time since seeing Necrozma that night. “Also affirmative. Arceus wanted Lunala to study you, and now that she is incapable of doing so, he will no doubt want to do so himself.”

Nymph grinned. The Hall of Origin. This would be fun. She was trying to visualize what it would look like when she saw some movement behind Reshiram.

“Ahh, I slept like a log! I’m all refreshed now! What did I miss?”


End file.
